Establishment of new childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia cell lines

• Grant number: 25/12220-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2025
• End date: July 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Principal Investigator: José Andrés Yunes
• Grantee: Maria Luiza Silva Pires
• Host Institution: Centro Infantil de Investigações Hematológicas Dr Domingos A Boldrini (CIB). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) is the most common type of childhood cancer, affecting thousands of children every year around the world and despite having a survival rate higher than 80%, many patients still relapse or are not successful in treatment. This may be due to the great diversity of ALL molecular subtypes, characterized by the presence of different genetic mutations. Cell lines are widely used for research models. However, given the great heterogeneity of ALL mutations and molecular subtypes, ALL cell lines that are currently known do not cover all known molecular subtypes. This project proposes the in vitro culture of ALL cells, for the obtaining of cell lines. For this, ALL cells from the institutional biobank will be selected based on their in vitro behavior in tests performed in conjunction with the PRONON in vitro drug screening project. Of the more than 150 ALL cases already tested in culture for ~80 hr, 5 proliferated without the addition of growth cytokines and another 11 proliferated in response to the addition of IL7. Samples from these 16 cases will be thawed and placed in culture, with their proliferation and viability rates observed. Cases that proliferate in vitro will be characterized through immunophenotyping, karyotyping, cell cycle and STR genotyping.